1972Final results
1972 election for Illinois Legislative District 12
Illinois State Senate · Illinois
Ben E. Palmer (D) won with 52.9% of the vote, defeating John E. McNeal (R) by 5.8 points.
Ben E. PalmerDemocrat · winner · incumbent
52.9%34,189
John E. McNealRepublican
47.1%30,449
64,656 votes
Source: Harvard Dataverse / Carl KlarnerUpdated Sep 30, 2026, 7:29 AM ET
The seat over time
D − R margin in this seat's races around 1972
Races before and after
Source: Harvard Dataverse / Carl KlarnerUpdated Sep 30, 2026, 7:29 AM ET